'I hope being open about my childhood trauma can give others the strength to do the same and help them on their healing journeys,' Common said. 'We all have experienced pain and suffering. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.'
Common on Wednesday explained why he decided to open up in his latest book about being molested as a child — to help others.that he wrote his new memoir,"Let Love Have the Last Word," in part to help lift the stigma of sexual abuse.
"I hope being open about my childhood trauma can give others the strength to do the same and help them on their healing journeys," he said."We all have experienced pain and suffering. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.""I talked about being molested because, as a Black man, many men have hidden that," Common, 47, said."Many people have hidden that. And you carry that weight with you. But at some point, you’ve got to let it go.
In the book, which was released Tuesday, Common says it wasn't until two years ago, while preparing for his role in “The Tale,” alongside Laura Dern, that he uncovered memories of being molested,“One day, while talking through the script with Laura, old memories surprisingly flashed in my mind,” he wrote. “I caught my breath and just kept looping the memories over and over, like rewinding an old VHS tape…I said ‘Laura, I think I was abused.
He wrote that the abuse happened at age 9 or 10, during a family trip to Cleveland, when he had to share a bed with his godbrother’s relative, whom he refers to as “Brandon.”The Grammy, Golden Globe and Oscar-winning rapper has since forgiven his abuser, he said in the new memoir, and he is still working through what he endured with the help of his therapist.
“I want to be a person who helps break cycles of violence,” he writes. “This is love in action and I intend to practice it.”
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